At the end of October, Oxford's thinnest band (The Wild Poppies
split up ages ago), On A Friday, played the Jericho Tavern to a good
sized crowd and there was a man from EMI there.
A mere two weeks later they are playing the tavern again and the place
is heaving. There are 25 record company A&R men there and, what's more,
they have all paid to get in. To put it bluntly, On A Friday are
happening.
It's a good job, then, that we've chosen this month to put them on the
front cover. If we'd waited any longer, they'd be splashed all over the
nationals and we'd be left with egg all over our faces.
The first time I saw On A Friday I was so drunk I couldn't remember a
single thing about them. The second time I saw them I thought they
were really rather good, if a little weird. Ironically, I finally
realised what a great pop group they were at a pathetically attended
gig at the Poly, with crap sound and a ludicrously curtailed set.
While on A Friday's music is lively, catchy and intense and easily good
enough to stand up on its own, what makes them just that much better is
singer Tom's voice. He is possessed of that rare and special
thing: a naturally musical singing voice. How many bands have you seen
ruined by a bad or boring singer? I lost count many years ago. Tom
doesn't just deliver his lyrics; he uses his voice to interact with the
other instruments, almost as if it were one itself. This often makes
the words hard to comprehend. What are the songs about?
Tom: "Erm ... well, 'Nothing Touches Me' is based on an artist who was
imprisoned for abusing children and spent the rest of his life in a
cell painting, but the song is about isolating yourself so much that
one day you realise you haven't got any friends anymore and no one
talks to you."
Sounds pretty miserable - but your music is quite happy, isn't it?
"Yeah, I'm just aggressive and sick."
Twenty minutes later, Tom reveals that he doesn't really know what the
songs are about.
On a Friday, far from being a singer and his backing band, are a
collective of five individuals, each with a strong input into the
band's music. All stamp their individual influences and tastes on the
music and this means that the end product doesn't really sound like
anyone else. Tom, Phil (drums), Colin (bass), Ed (guitar) and John
(guitar and organ) find common ground in bands like the Buzzcocks,
REM, the Fall and (ahem) Peter Paul & Mary (this could be a wind-up)
but beyond this they go for anything from Curve to Bootsy Collins to
techno. They also seem to argue lots.
They've just been into Courtyard Studios with Chris Hufford, producer
of Slowdive's album.
Colin: "He heard about us through a mutual friend and came to see us at
the Jericho. Afterwards he was almost shaking. He said we were the best
group he'd seen in three years and invited us to record with him at the
Courtyard. We see it as an investment."
And the investment seems to be about to pay off sooner than they
expected. The five songs they recorded show a massive leap in depth and
professionalism from their last demo, impressive though it was. The new
tape should be available from Manic Hedgehog by the time you read this
and it's well worth forking out £3 for. In short it's a stormer.
All five members of the band are Oxford born and bred and all have
returned to their home town after time away at college. How much
influence has Oxford had on their songs?
Tom: "Loads. Jerusalem' is all about Oxford. So is Everybody Lies
Through Their Teeth'. It's such a weird place and it's very important
to my writing."
It's the subject of Oxford - in particular music in Oxford - which
provokes the arguments. Wildly differing views are thrown out as to why
Oxford has, or hasn't, got a decent music scene...
"...If the Tavern closed there wouldn't be any scene at all."
"No? What about the Dolly and the Venue? -"
"- And the Old Fire Station? I know it's crap, but there are a lot of
towns the size of Oxford haven't got a venue like that. Oxford has got
a lot more soul than, say, Cambridge, but it comes from places like
Cowley rather than the university. Students come here for three years
and leave without contributing anything."
"I don't think it's all the students' fault. It's the people who run the
university who are the problem. They control everything in Oxford from
their corridors of power. They have a say in all the licensing of
clubs. That's why we get terrible places like the Park End Club. Oxford
is crying out for a couple of decent nightclubs. And it's the Dons who
say that bands can't play in the colleges, not the students..."
The argument continues with no real agreement or fixed conclusions.
Everyone agrees that things could be better but they could be a lot
worse.
"There are a hell of a lot of bands in Oxford for its size and the Dolly
and the Venue and especially the Tavern are good venues. The Old Fire
Station looks like it was designed by the people who build Little
Chefs. The stage is almost an afterthought, you feel like you're
playing on a salad bar."
On A Friday also say some very complementary things about Curfew, which
makes me feel like my life isn't totally wasted. And indeed, if this
humble and overworked editor's gushing opinions can help On A Friday
towards the megasuccess they are due for then Curfew will have achieved
at least one useful thing in its time. And successful On A Friday will
be. No ifs and buts with this lot. This time next year they will have
outgrown all the venues they talk about and for once I think I may just
have got it right. Are they ready to be stars?
Tom: "People sometimes say we take things too seriously, but it's the
only way you'll get anywhere. We're not going to sit around and wait
and just be happy if something turns up. We are ambitious. You have to
be."